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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

How Obama should fix the economy Real people across the country answer the question: How will Obama affect your wallet? And what do you think the new

Cliff Hilton, 51, restaurant owner, Beaumont, Texas

President-elect Obama, I work 14 hours a day, seven days a week. Since I work that much, I can make a living. I employ 14 workers.

If I am to be taxed for working hard, make everyone that receives my money work as hard and as long as me. If they work seven days a week, they'll have less time to spend and want.

I live in a small apartment and drive a five-year-old car. I don't have cable TV or Internet at home. I keep the temperature at 80 degrees in the summer and never turn the heat on in the winter. My debt is a very small fraction of my net worth. I have cash to pay off my debt. I have lived a frugal life. If someone is to receive my money, they should be required to stay out of debt themselves.

I have chosen to eat good food and maintain my health. I don't take drugs of any kind. If someone is to receive my money, they should be required to maintain their health to the level of not needing health care. I worked two years before I could afford to purchase medical insurance with a $5,000 deduction. Some of my workers do not take care of themselves and want me to get them insurance for free. I could not imagine being required to do so.

I do not and will not support free public health insurance, retirement, protection, etc.

If I consider a plot of land, prepare the land (remove rocks, trees, weeds), plow the rows, plant the seeds, and pray to God for sunshine and rain, am I required to give the [harvest] to someone who never put their hands to help nor their money and health at risk for failure or success? Don't dilute my expectation. If I fail, I fail alone. No one wants to help pay for my failure. If I succeed, you should not want to take my money and give it to one who has failed.

Since you are now the President-elect, you must have worked pretty hard to get there. Others who supported you must have seen something in you that inspired them to give your campaign hard-earned money. Please do not require less from every single American that is receiving

Paulson says Treasury will broaden reach to include non-bank financial firms and seek out private capital to match U.S. funds. EMAIL | PRINT | S

Paulson says Treasury will broaden reach to include non-bank financial firms and seek out private capital to match U.S. funds.

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By Tami Luhby, CNNMoney.com senior writer

Where will you do most of your holiday shopping?
  • At a mall
  • At a discount store
  • Online
  • Won't be shopping
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How Obama should fix the economy How Obama should fix the economy How Obama should fix the economy
Real people across the country answer the question: How will Obama affect your wallet? And what do you think the new President and Congress needs to do to right the economy - both in the short run and the long term?

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Wednesday that the government would broaden the reach of its $700 billion bailout plan to support non-bank financial institutions that provide consumer credit, such as credit cards and auto loans.

In this second stage of the bailout, officials also hope to attract private capital, possibly through matching investments, to give the government's injections more heft.

Paulson also said the government is no longer planning to buy troubled mortgage assets, the original goal of the plan. Therefore, it must come up with new ways to help homeowners and slow the tide of foreclosures, which it had hoped to do once it owned the troubled loans.

President Palin? Alaska governor ponders her future

(CNN) -- Far from stepping out of the public eye since the Republican ticket lost the election, Gov. Sarah Palin is moving deeper into the spotlight.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has granted numerous interviews in the week after the election.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has granted numerous interviews in the week after the election.

In the past week, the former vice presidential candidate has invited reporters into her home in Alaska, serving them moose chili and moose hot dogs as she opens up about her life and what's next.

The Alaska governor, who was criticized during the campaign for being too shielded from the media, has been granting back-to-back interviews -- including two Wednesday on CNN.

Palin sits down with Wolf Blitzer in an interview that will air on "The Situation Room," starting at 4 p.m. ET. Palin also will appear on "Larry King Live" at 9 p.m. ET.

Palin also plans to give remarks Thursday about "Looking Toward the Future" at the Republican Governors Association annual conference in Miami, Florida, and she's expected to hold a news conference later that day.

Her newfound openness with the media is a sign that she has her future in mind, analysts say. Video Watch more on Palin's media blitz »

"Right now, Gov. Palin's future is up for grabs, and no one knows exactly what she wants. About the only thing we do know for sure is that lately, she has been preoccupied with clearing her name, which is an indication that she's got big plans for the future," said Gloria Borger, a senior political analyst for CNN.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

How Obama should fix the economy

Christopher J. Monroe, 38, business owner, Peoria, Ill.
I am a business owner with multiple small businesses. I'm a father of four. I'm divorced and remarried. And I'm directly in the bull's-eye of the changes that our next President is about to make.
From the credit crisis that nearly bankrupted my home-medical-equipment company to the tax changes that could radically change the plans of my financial service clients, I see the impact of our country's fiscal irresponsibility everywhere.
I service Medicare recipients and know firsthand the dire impact of competitive bidding and the cutbacks in reimbursement that have challenged my company. I advise people in the field of financial services and understand the complexity and disparity of the tax code and how it needs [to be] fixed. I own property and am frightened of the additional taxes I will pay when I sell. I have prudently extended myself and my family to take the risks that make a better life for my children and yet, that risk seems to be for naught....
Where do we go from here? Additional taxation will only drive the ultra-wealthy out of this country. The hard-working affluent will get socked with so many additional taxes that they will be disincentivised to accumulate wealth and everyone else will look to the government for direction and financial aid. We will slip into an economic model that cannot sustain the American Dream that this country was founded upon and our poor, elderly and disabled will suffer even more. Increased taxes do not create jobs, stimulate economic growth or promote freedom. Increased bureaucracy does not engender a culture of discovery, creation and reward.
I do not agree with the excessive spending done under the Bush administration, but I also

Russia: Fire system caused 20 sub deaths

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- An accident that killed 20 people on a new Russian nuclear submarine was caused by a malfunctioning fire safety system that spewed out chemicals, according to an initial investigation, officials said Sunday.

The submarine, believed to be called Nerpa, is seen heading to its base on Sunday in a Russian TV image.

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At least 21 other people were injured during Saturday's test run in the Sea of Japan, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
It was Russia's worst naval accident since the nuclear submarine Kursk sank after an onboard torpedo explosion on August 12, 2000, killing all 118 crew members.
The latest fatal accident was the result of the "accidental launch of the fire-extinguishing system" on the Pacific Fleet sub, Russian navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo told reporters.
Russian news agency Interfax said a preliminary forensic investigation found that the release of Freon gas following the activation of the fire extinguishing system may have caused the fatalities.
Seventeen of the fatalities were civilian members of the shipyard crew, Interfax reported. The submarine was being field tested before it became a official part of the navy, according to a Russian Defense Ministry statement.
The statement said 208 people, including 81 soldiers were on board the submarine. In addition to the

Monks brawl before religious ceremony

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- An unusual sight greeted Jerusalem police as they entered one of Christianity's holiest sites Sunday morning: dozens of monks punching and kicking each other in a massive brawl.

Israeli police scuffle with an Armenian monk Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
more photos »

Monks from the Greek Orthodox and Armenian denominations were preparing for a ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City when a disagreement led to a full-fledged fistfight.
The fight began when Armenian clergy were holding a procession to commemorate the finding of the cross believed to have been used in the crucifixion of Jesus, according to The Associated Press.
The Greek members of the clergy wanted one of their monks present, the AP reported, for fear that the procession would undermine their claim to an ancient structure built on what is believed to be the tomb of Jesus.
The two sides could not agree, and when the Armenians tried to begin the procession, the Greek monks stepped in and the fighting began, the AP reported.
"We were keeping resistance so that the procession could not pass through ... and establish a right that they don't have," a young Greek Orthodox monk with a cut next to his left eye told the AP. See scenes from the brawl »

Obama team reviewing 'virtually every agency,' aide says

CNN) -- The head of President-elect Barack Obama's transition team said Sunday that the incoming administration is conducting an extensive review of President Bush's executive orders.

President-elect Barack Obama has said he intends to move with "deliberate haste" in making appointments.

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Asked about reports that the transition team already has identified a number of areas where Obama could issue executive orders as soon as he takes office, John Podesta said he would not "preview decisions that [Obama] has yet to make."
"I would say that as a candidate, Sen. Obama said that he wanted all the Bush executive orders reviewed and decide which ones should be kept and which ones should be repealed and which ones should be amended, and that process is going on. It's been undertaken," Podesta said Sunday on "Fox News."
Podesta pointed out that there is a lot the president can do without waiting for Congress, and voters can expect to see Obama do so to try and restore "a sense that the country is working on behalf of the common good."
"I think that we're looking at -- again, in virtually every agency to see where we can move forward, whether that's on energy transformation, on improving health care, on stem cell research," he said.
Podesta, chief of staff under President Clinton, is president and CEO of the Center for American
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